Vulcan is the Roman God of the forge. The giant Vulcan statue in Birmingham was created to represent the industrial strength of the region. And you can climb to the top to get a bird’s eye view of downtown.

“A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” ~ Henry Kissinger ~

While visiting Birmingham, Alabama, a few weeks ago, we followed the recommendation of TripAdvisors and visited the Sloss Furnaces. We read that this was an industrial museum. There is no admission fee and, after checking in, you are free to wander around on your own. If you are into architecture, industry, or photography – this is a place you must see.

The city of Birmingham was formed to exploit the raw mineral resources of the area. Every ingredient necessary – coal, limestone, iron ore – to make iron was found within a 30 mile radius. In the 1870s, after a long financial depression, demand for industrial products was picking up throughout the nation. Agriculture had been the basis for Alabama’s economy, but the demand for cotton on the world market had declined causing people in the rural areas to seek out work in the mines, mills, and blast furnaces. Birmingham soon grew into the South’s leading city for heavy industry.

Due to plastic pipe, ductile iron, foreign industry, and the Clean Air Act of 1970, Sloss Furnaces closed in 1971. In 1977 voters approved a bond to convert the furnaces into an industrial museum. Work commenced to restore the site and make it accessible to the public. Currently it is the only twentieth century blast furnace in the nation being preserved as an industrial museum.

Sloss Furnaces is used as a backdrop for many concerts and community events. As we wandered around the site, we came across preparations for their annual haunted house. Incidentally, the site has been featured on Ghost Hunters. I thought it would be appropriate to post this theme today, on Halloween.

“Direction is more important than speed. We are so busy looking at our speedometers that we forget the milestone….”

This replica of one of the 1969 Harley-Davidson Captain America choppers used in the movie “Easy Rider” is on display at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

Earlier this month my husband and I took a short vacation to Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose was to go to the Annual Barber Vintage Festival at the Barber Motorsports Park. In years past, my husband has ridden his motorcycle up with friends to enjoy the motorcycle races and vendors, as well as spending hours wandering five floors of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. This year I opted to join him and we made it a car trip.

While we waited on races to begin, I watched antique Indian and Harley-Davidson motorcycles speed around in this “wall of death.” The Wall of Death is a vintage live action thrill show within a silo-shaped wooden cylinder 30 feet in diameter that motorcycle daredevils perform acrobatic and trick riding in. Onlookers could watch from the top of a 14 foot board wall. As they sped around in circles and reached the top rim of the motor drome, I couldn’t help but step back from the wall as I felt the wind of the motorcycles passing inches away from us.

We knew we would meet up with friends who also rode up for the weekend to watch as vintage motorcycles from all over the world came to race. It was especially fun to watch as Denny Poneleit, from Sarasota, raced around the track and captured 3rd place. The next day we left for home, but we heard he took 1st place in his race that day.

In anticipation of our “Yellow” theme, I took a picture of the Minion t-shirts that I was sending off to my grandsons for “Talk Like a Pirate” day. A minion is a follower of a powerful person. In the Minion movies, they seek to serve the most supreme villain that they can find, but over the centuries, their masters always seem to fail. It’s no surprise that the character has been suited up in pirate attire. Pirates are not harmless – but talking like one is. The point of Talk Like A Pirate Day is silliness.

You may ask, how did International Talk Like A Pirate Day come to be? Actually two friends, John Baur and Mark Sommers, in Oregon were playing a lively game of racquetball when one of them got hurt and yelled out “Arrr.” They began trading insults and encouragements with “pirate lingo.” One thing led to another and they settled on September 19 as their official Talk Like A Pirate Day. They picked one of their ex’s birthdate so that they would remember the date. It was an inside joke for about 7 years until they shared it with syndicated humor writer David Barry. Barry promoted the idea in his column and growing media attention after that ensured that the holiday has now gone viral and is celebrated internationally.

Get into the spirit of International Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19th and try to slip into conversation some of these typical pirate phrases. Add a growl and lots of gestures.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! – exhortation of discontent or disgust

Ahoy! – Hello!

Ahoy, Matey – Hello, my friend!

Ahoy, me Hearties! – the same as saying “Hello, my friends!”

All hand hoay! – comparable to all hands on deck

Avast ye – stop and check this out or pay attention

Aye – yes

Batten down the hatches – put everything away on the ship and tie everything down because a storm is brewing

Beauty – a lovely lady

Blimey! – exhortation of surprise

Blow me down! – expression of shock of disbelief akin to “Holy Crap!”

Blow the man down – command to kill someone

Booty – treasure

Buccaneer or Bucko – a pirate

Cat O’Nine Tails – a whip with nine strands

Cleave him to the brisket – to cut across the chest, from one shoulder to the lower abdomen

Corsair – pirates in the Mediterranean Sea

Crow’s nest – small platform atop the mast where the lookout stands

Cutlass – short heavy curved bladed sword used by pirates

Davy Jones’ Locker – fabled, mythical place at the bottom of the ocean where the evil spirit of Davy Jones brings sailor and pirates to die

Dead men tell no tales – leave no witnesses

Doubloons – other coins or found in pirate hoards and stashes

Feed the fish – will soon die

Grog – Booze (usually Rum)

Head – the pirate ship’s toilet

Heave Ho – give it some muscle and put some effort into it

Hornswaggle – to defraud or cheat out of money or belongings

Jacob’s Ladder – the rope ladder one uses to climb aboard a sloop

Jolly Roger – pirate’s flag including white skull and crossbones over a black field

Lad, lass, lassie – a younger person

Landlubber – big, slow clumsy person who doesn’t know how to sail

Man-O-War – pirate’s ship outfitted for battle

Me – my

Old Salt – a long-time sailor

Pieces of eight – coins or found in pirate stashes

Pillage – to plunder

Poop deck – the part of the ship farthest to the back, which is usually above the captain’s quarters. This is not the bathroom.

Privateer – government-sponsored pirates

Rum – pirate’s traditional alcoholic beverage

Run a shot across the bow – warning shot to another vessel’s captain

Savvy? – do you catch my drift?

Scallywag – mild insult akin to rapscallion or rogue

Scurvy dog – the pirate is talking directly to you with mild insult

Scuttle – to sink a ship

Seadog – old pirate or sailor

Shark bait – will soon join Davy Jones’ Locker

Shipshape – cleaned up and under control

Shiver me timbers! – comparable to “Holy Crap!”

Son of a Biscuit Eater – insult directed towards someone you don’t like

Thar she blows! – Whale sighting

Three sheets to the wind – someone who is very drunk. One sheet is mildly drunk and four sheets is passed out.

Walk the plank – punishment in which person walks off a board jutting over the side of the ship while at sea. The consequence is drowning and a visit to Davy Jones’ Locker.

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! – pull up the anchor and the sail and let’s get going